Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DEN'I-ZEN, n. [den'izn; In W. dinaswr is a citizen, from dinas, din, a fortress or fortified town, a city. But in denizen, the last syllable seems to be the same as in citizen.]

1. In England, an alien who is made a subject by the king's letters patent, holding a middle state between an alien and a natural born subject. He may take land by purchase or devise, which an alien can not; but he can not take by inheritance. – Encyc. English Law.
2. A stranger admitted to residence and certain rights in a foreign country. Ye gods, / Natives, or denizens, of blest abodes. – Dryden.
3. A citizen.